blame it on my ADD

Now, this was weird. There was a great big crack in the ground, and it stretched across the area pretty far. Skirting around it, the child sniffed warily at the cavernous opening. Thus far, it wasn't dangerous. Nothing had tried to eat her, or drag her into the depths of the earth. Mama had warned her about creatures that liked to steal away young pups. The water spirits were the most dangerous. She tried to keep her visits to large bodies of water to a minimum.

"I ain't scared of you!" She shouted into the abyss. The sound her voice echoed for a moment, and disappeared. Ooooh. It went down! Since it hadn't eaten her, or tried to steal her away, she decided it couldn't be so bad. Careful steps took her into the bowels of the earth. Pebbles skittered down the tunnel with each tentative, sliding step. The dirt was hard packed, but only beneath the layer of rocks and sand that had been kicked loose by each traveller that came down here.

She hummed a tune to herself, keeping her mind occupied while she explored. The walls didn't have paintings or carvings in them. Near the top, there had been roots and stuff sticking out everywhere. Nothing touched her, she was too small for that. As she got deeper, there wasn't much. Even burrowing creatures hadn't dared come this deep. That thought gave her pause. Maybe it was time to turn back. What if there was something down here?

A soft whimper started to grate at her throat. Tears welled in her eyes. Something was going to eat her, she knew it! There were no living things, that meant it was bad! "Help! Mama! Papa! Help!" She cried, tears beginning to streak down her cheeks. Frozen in place by terror, she started to cry.